Final Oscar Predictions !

With the Oscars nearly upon us, it's time for final predictions. I've written up a lengthy piece for Towleroad which I hope you'll read and you can also compare my predictions to the other Gurus of Gold at Movie City News. I shan't reprint the whole thing here since we have all those charts you can peruse and months of articles on these very races. 

While nearly everyone expects La La Land to be the major champion of the night, I don't think it will be record breaking. Damien Chazelle’s popular musical would need 12 Oscars to beat the record of 11 which was set by Ben-Hur back in 1959 and then tied by both Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) and Titanic (1997). West Side Story (1961), yours truly's all time favorite movie, is the runner up to "most wins" with 10. La La Land might tie West Side Story but I'm predicting 9 wins. That's still a lot mind you but it's not quite record breaking. The number of wins for a Best Picture seems to be trending downward in the modern era. The only really truly big hauls in the past twenty years have been for The English Patient (9 wins for 1996), Titanic (11 wins in 1997), Shakespeare in Love (7 wins for 1999), Return of the King which was a special case as they were obviously rewarding the whole trilogy (11 wins for 2003), and Slumdog Millionaire (8 wins for 2008). I can't see La La Land winning less than 8.

But let's divvy up the categories into sure things, probably sure things, and very unsure things...

ALL LOCKED UP AND THEY SWALLOWED THE KEY

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1 Day to Oscar: First Time Nominees

by Murtada

With one day to Oscar, let’s salute 2016’s class of first time nominees in the four acting categories. So many great actors never get nominated, and many just get that one nomination. So it must so exciting for these lucky 7: Isabelle Huppert, Ruth Negga, Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, Lucas Hedges, Dev Patel and Andrew Garfield.

They range in age from 20 (Hedges) to 63 (Huppert). As befitting that range there are newcomers, legends and everything in between amongst them...

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Tweetweek: The Oscars are Coming! The Oscars are Coming!

People get soooo crazy this time of year when Oscar anticipation (and predictable backlashes) reaches its peak. Seriously, people have lost their minds in the countdown to La La Land's triumph. One article this week even proclaimed it a fascist film. HAHAHA. Oh Oscar season. Never stop bringing the insanity.

So The Film Experience has no choice but to endorses this Tweet as TWEET OF THE WEEK -- it's such a perfect satirical jab at the madness. (More of the best tweets of the week, most of them Oscar focused, are after the jump...) 

Just saw La La Land mugging an old lady in an alleyway.

— Tom Reagan's Hat (@andymannion777) February 25, 2017

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Joint Statement from Best Foreign Language Film Directors

The nominated directors from this year's Best Foreign Language Film nominees (Land of Mine, A Man Called Ove, The Salesman, Toni Erdmann, and Tanna) have released a joint statement about the Oscars, human rights, and the growing climate of nationalism around the world. It's a must read.

They write...

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All the Oscar Nominated Performances, Ranked (2010-2016)

Per reader request!

ALL 140 OF OSCAR NOMINATED PERFORMANCES THIS DECADE RANKED (THUS FAR)
by Nathaniel R
Asterisks indicate Oscar winners

1. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine *
2. Cate Blanchett, Carol
3. Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
4. Marion Cotillard, Two Days One Night
5. Christopher Plummer, Beginners *
6. Isabelle Huppert, Elle
   
   
7. Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
8. Viola Davis, The Help

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